Indian potato imports from Bhutan to continue without import license for another year

NEWDELHI:TheimportofpotatoesinIndiafromBhutan will continue without any import license for another year, Bhutan Live reported citing the notification by the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry. A similar exemption has alsobeenmadeforarecanutexport.

Earlier, the Indian Government had given import exemption for potatoes from Bhutan for a year, which ended onJune30.

The new import notification on potatoes signed by the Director General of Foreign Trade states, "Import of potatoes from Bhutan is permitted freely, without any license, up to the 30thofJune,2024."

Potatoes from Bhutan are exported to India via Samtse, Phuentshogling,Gelephu,andSamdrupJongkhar.

"So far, we have exported 183 metric tonnes of potatoes from our Samdrup Jongkhar auction yard which comes to aboutNu4.1M.Accordingly,fromthePhuentshoglingauction yard, we have exported 290 metric tonnes which amounts to Nu 5.4 M," Bhutan Live quoted Dorji Tashi, the CEO of Food CorporationofBhutan,assaying.

In a separate notification by India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Bhutan can also export 17,000 metric tonnes of fresh areca nut to India without meeting the minimum import price. The export of these commodities is facilitated by the Food Corporation of Bhutan and areca nut export is mostly facilitatedbyprivatetraders.

According to the new notification, apart from Phuentshogling,arecanutexportwillalsobeallowedthrough Chamurchi, a neighbouring border town in Samtse, Bhutan Livereported.